1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and a system for charging a streaming connection in a mobile packet radio system. In particular, the invention relates to charging streaming that is transmitted over a packet switched network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The growth of mobile communications and the Internet have spurred innovation and new technology in these areas, where the requirements of the modern day user are becoming more demanding. The boundaries between various traditional networks are becoming increasingly blurred. Nowadays, there is a significant overlap between applications traditionally in the telecommunications domain, i.e. circuit-switched traffic (voice) and applications traditionally in the data communication domain, i.e. packet-switched traffic (data). For instance, a mobile user forming part of the PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) can now retrieve data from the Internet.
Thus, recently radio communication systems such as mobile communication networks have started to provide packet data services for the users in addition to traditional circuit switched services. Packet switched data service describes a type of service in which relatively small units of data called packets are routed through a network based on the destination address contained within each packet. In the following the terms packet switched and packet are used interchangeably unless otherwise noted. Breaking communication down into packets allows the same data path to be shared among a plurality of users in the network. This type of communication between a sender and receiver is commonly referred to as connectionless rather than dedicated. Most traffic over the Internet uses packet switching and the Internet is basically a connectionless network.
In a typical packet data enabled radio communication network a mobile station can send and receive packet data related to several different data connections simultaneously. A packet data traffic flow to a mobile station refers to the packet data corresponding to one or more simultaneous data connections to the mobile station. In the following the terms packet data traffic flow and traffic flow are used interchangeably unless otherwise noted. For example, packet data corresponding to an email message includes a data connection. Packet data corresponding to a World Wide Web (WWW) browsing session includes another data connection. When transmitted simultaneously to or from a given mobile station, these two data connections comprise a traffic flow. The two data connections can be in the same Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context.
Data services may be categorized into real time (RT) and non-real time (nRT) services. Non-real time services may include for example sending and receiving emails, and interactive browsing of the World Wide Web. Real time services may include for example streaming services such as multimedia and video transmissions. Traditionally real time services have mostly been implemented as circuit switched services but recently also real time packet data services have started to emerge.
An example of packet data service for digital mobile communication networks e.g. is the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). The GPRS is designed to support especially digital mobile networks. These can be for example based on the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard. However, the GPRS is not restricted to only GSM networks but may support for example digital mobile networks based on Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) radio network standards. Additionally, the GPRS may also act as an access network for an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).
A GPRS enabled mobile communication network includes two additional network elements or nodes. These include a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). An SGSN typically delivers packets to GPRS enabled mobile stations (MS) within its service area. It may further send queries to a Home Location Register (HLR) to obtain profile data of GPRS subscribers. It may further detect new GPRS enabled mobile stations in a given service area, process registration of new mobile subscribers, and keep a record of their location inside a given area. The GGSN is typically used as an interface to external IP networks such as the Internet, other mobile service providers, GPRS services, enterprise intranets or streaming servers providing multimedia content.
In a packet-switched (PS, Packet Switched) mobile phone environment, it is possible to establish mobile originated (MO, Mobile Originated) connections, in which case a user or subscriber activates a PDP context (PDP, Packet Data Protocol) to the direction of the public land mobile network. After this, the transfer of information is successful from the terminal device to the public land mobile network and vice versa.
Typically GPRS networks utilize Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) or GSM air networks. When the streaming service is implemented in these networks, charging the connections in the mobile packet radio systems is becoming more and more difficult for operators and end users to realize.
Currently there exists several ways of charging connections in mobile packet radio systems. Most of them are volume based or event based, this means that they are based on the measurement of the amount of information or bits that have been transferred through the system or a fixed fee for a certain event.
However, the GPRS standards allow time based charging to be applied on one Access Point Name, later referred to as APN. However, currently there does not exist a method for charging a streaming connection based on the length of a streaming connection or the time of the streaming connection simultaneously with a browsing or email session that is charged according to volume based charging.